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Is Matson (MATX) Stock Outpacing Its Transportation Peers This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Matson (MATX - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Matson is a member of our Transportation group, which includes 138 different companies and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Matson is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MATX's full-year earnings has moved 30.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, MATX has moved about 44.9% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have gained about 6.7% on average. This shows that Matson is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM - Free Report) is another Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 124%.

The consensus estimate for Navios Maritime Partners LP's current year EPS has increased 39.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Matson is a member of the Transportation - Services industry, which includes 27 individual companies and currently sits at #51 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.6% this year, meaning that MATX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Navios Maritime Partners LP, however, belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry. Currently, this 44-stock industry is ranked #87. The industry has moved +51.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to Matson and Navios Maritime Partners LP as they could maintain their solid performance.


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